UCL BLOOMSBURY PROJECT

Spiritual

London City Mission

History

It was founded in 1835 by David Nasmith, originator of the city mission movement throughout the British Empire and USA (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography)

Nasmith’s vision of numerous related organisations all working together from a single “Philanthropic Institution House” was at odds with some of the other members of the London City Mission, including Rev. Robert Ainslie, who feared Nasmith's efforts would be spread too thin, and that the Mission would suffer a loss of reputation and funds as a result (Robert Ainslie to the Committee of the London City Mission, 4 February 1837; in John Campbell, Memoirs of David Nasmith: His Labours and Travels in Great Britain, France, the United States, and Canada, 1844)

Ainslie’s letter paid unintentional tribute to Nasmith’s energy as “the originator and prime mover of one and all of these institutions” (Robert Ainslie to the Committee of the London City Mission, 4 February 1837; in John Campbell, Memoirs of David Nasmith: His Labours and Travels in Great Britain, France, the United States, and Canada, 1844)

He continued “For your convenience, and the affairs of your Mission, you have taken a suite of rooms at No. 20, Red Lion-square, commodious, and in every way eligible, and the house free from disrepute...In a few short months you are surrounded by several new neighbours; and the religious public, knowing that the founder of the Mission is the projector of these other new ones, begin to think that the Philanthropic Institution House has been taken for the creation of societies” (Robert Ainslie to the Committee of the London City Mission, 4 February 1837; in John Campbell, Memoirs of David Nasmith: His Labours and Travels in Great Britain, France, the United States, and Canada, 1844)

Ainslie was particularly outraged by the proximity of the “probationary house for wretched females” run in the converted stables of 20 Red Lion Square by the London Female Mission (Female Aid Society) — disturbingly accessible, he thought, to the young men who attended lectures and meetings of the British and Foreign Young Men’s Society in the main house, although the Committee of the Mission had no such qualms (Robert Ainslie to the Committee of the London City Mission, 4 February 1837; in John Campbell, Memoirs of David Nasmith: His Labours and Travels in Great Britain, France, the United States, and Canada, 1844)

Ainslie’s resignation from the Mission was followed quickly by that of Rev. Baptist Wriothesley Noel, who had similar misgivings about the proliferation of institutions, and who also thought there were too many Baptists and not enough churchmen among the Mission’s agents (John Campbell, Memoirs of David Nasmith: His Labours and Travels in Great Britain, France, the United States, and Canada, 1844)

Within a few weeks, David Nasmith himself resigned from the Mission, along with his friend Edward Trust Carver, and devoted himself to all the other institutions being run from 20 Red Lion Square, including his own new mission, the British and Foreign Mission (later the Country Towns Mission), which was again supported by Rev. Baptist Wriothesley Noel

The Mission is still going strong, as a registered charity which sends missionaries out on the streets of London and into workplaces to preach the Christian religion to Londoners

Its missionaries speak more than 20 languages

What was reforming about it?

Its locally-based missionaries cultivated friendly relationships with residents and workers

Where in Bloomsbury

It had premises at no. 20 Red Lion Square, Nasmith’s “Philanthropic Institution House”, from the 1840s

Website of current institution

Books about it

Peter Trainer, Mission to London: Tracing the Formation and Early Days of the London City Mission (pamphlet; not dated); available online from the London City Mission website (opens in new window)

Irene Howat and John Nicholls, Streets Paved with Gold: The Story of the London City Mission (2003)

Archives

The Mission kept full records from the beginning, which it still has at its headquarters in Tower Bridge Road, including unpublished reports by the missionaries, who kept daily journals from the beginning, as well as copies of printed material, including the Annual Reports and the London City Mission Magazine (from 1836); details are available online via the London City Mission website (opens in new window)